A Flickering Light Book 2: Journey Through Darkness (Fragmentary Pass)
by WolfWingsRandomWritings
Summary: Okay it's based on Fragmentary Passage but there's a character limit on the title so shrug. Ignus's story continues with Aqua in the Realm of Darkness!
1. Chapter 1: Reunion in Shadow

Aqua floated weightlessly. She wasn't sure which way was up. She wasn't sure she cared.

_Now I can be…one with the darkness…_

The wayfinder slipped out of her open fingers. A moment later, someone took her hand.

"Aqua…it really is you…"

Aqua's eyes opened to see a face. She couldn't bring it into focus. The hand pulled her to the side and set her down on the nearest solid ground. She stood and looked closer at the face.

"Ignus? How did…" Aqua started "Terra! Ven!"

"Talk later." Ignus quickly recited the Oath of Spark as a swirling column of dark creatures burst from the ground.

"Dwellers of darkness…"

"They're called the Heartless." Ignus shrugged. "If that helps."

**(Fight Scene song: When It Falls)**

The Heartless spiraled up to the ceiling.

"Probably better to not push our luck." Ignus said, letting Spark disappear. "I never thought that you'd be here. What happened to you?"

"Have you seen Terra or Ven?" Aqua asked.

"No. Ventus is still in the Chamber of Waking."

"He hasn't woken up?" Aqua's eyes burned. She shoved Ignus back against the rock wall. "And you just left him there!"

She pulled her hand back and punched Ignus in the face. She began to cry, beating her fists against his chest as she screamed.

"You said you would protect him! You said you'd take care of him! That you'd be there when he woke up! How could you leave him?" She collapsed against Ignus's chest, her anger evaporating and her voice dropping to a whisper.

"How could you just abandon him like that?"

Ignus put an arm gently around her shoulders. He didn't say anything. Aqua stepped back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. The darkness in this place, it's getting to me."

"That doesn't mean you were wrong." Ignus sighed and stretched, sitting against the wall. "A while after you left, I felt your heart vanish. I couldn't sense it anymore. I came to look for you. And once I did, well…"

"You couldn't get back."

"No, I couldn't find you. I searched everywhere I could for any sense of your heart. I never thought to check the realm of darkness. I came close to giving up on finding you. But once I got here, I felt your heart. How did you get here?"

"First tell me: How long's it been in the realm of light?"

Ignus sighed. "Ten years. Give or take."

"Interesting. After we last spoke, I went after Terra." Aqua stepped away a bit. "But Terra was about to fall to darkness, so I had one choice. I stayed here in hopes of giving him a chance."

"And you've been here all this time."

Aqua turned back around and walked over to sit beside Ignus. "If you weren't looking for me…what brought you here? Has something happened in the realm of light?"

"Those things we fought, the Heartless. They've been attacking worlds, stealing their hearts. Eventually, the entire world vanishes into darkness. There should be a door between the two realms, light and dark. If we can lock it from both sides, we can protect the balance of the worlds. So I came here to find the key on this side. It wasn't easy getting here, and the crossing points are wildly unstable, they only appear in the realms between when a world is consumed. I went to a falling world…and I waited. When the world fell into darkness, I fell right in with it. That's when I felt your heart."

Ignus chuckled "I honestly didn't believe it, after so long. But there was a strong light beside it. I figured if there was that much light down here, I should take a look." He reached into his pocket and passed Aqua her wayfinder. "I found you beside it."

"The charm…" Aqua whispered. "So they _were_ helping. Terra and Ven brought you and I back together again."

"Seems that way."

"But the worlds are still in danger…"Aqua mused. "Terra. Did he make it back to the realm of light?"

"I feel bits of his heart from time to time, scattered all over the place. Nothing I can follow. We haven't found him anywhere."

"I see." Aqua stood. "Well, wherever he is, he's fighting. He'll beat his darkness. And I know he wants me to fight too."

Ignus stood. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a keyblade wielder. He's tough."

"He always has been. But what about Ven? He won't wake up unless I'm there with him. I have to go. I have to find a way back to the realm of light."

"Then let's find that key and go wake him up together."

"You have an exit then?"

"Well, I did. Like I said, they're really unstable, and I don't think it's open anymore. So I guess we'll have to find a new one." Ignus stretched. "May our hearts be our guiding key."

"There's a phrase no one's used in ages."

"Used to be a big thing between keyblade wielders. Times being what they are, I figured it could do everyone some good to remember the strength of the past."

Aqua stared at Ignus for a moment. "You got older."

Ignus gave her a sad smile back. "You didn't."

Notes:

When It Falls: watch?v=Abf8CQ_dxzc


	2. Chapter 2: Keyblade on the Beach

Aqua and Ignus stepped out of the cave to a sandy bluff overlooking towering breakers. The sun shone down brightly, but the wooden structures were collapsed and dark-looking plants grew between the trees.

"This is…where I met those children." Aqua whispered.

"So many worlds have been lost. Now they're all trapped here in the dark." Ignus shook his head to clear it. "You know this place, Aqua?"

"Yes, I visited once. And I met two boys I considered passing the keyblade on to. But because Terra had already given one of them the power, I didn't."

Ignus started. "Aqua. What were the boys' names?"

"They were…Sora and Riku."

"We must be getting warm." Ignus began to scan the cliffs.

"Huh?"

"There are two boys who were working to help me close the doors. Their names are Sora and Riku."

"The same boys?"

"I think so. This is where they first got the keyblade of light, so I figure there's a chance its counterpart is here too." His vision zeroed in on a cave in the cliffs. "It would make sense for the keyblade of darkness to be on the dark side of the world where the keyblade of light was, right?"

A loud boom sounded and the ground shook under them.

"Guess we'd better hurry. Come on!" Ignus ran for the cave.

As they approached it, a massive tide of Heartless exploded out, forcing the two keyblade wielders to jump out of the way. Ignus and Aqua drew their keyblades as the spiraling wave circled overhead.

**(Fight Scene song: I'm the One)**

As the last of the Heartless faded into nothing, the pair let their weapons vanish.

"You certainly haven't gotten rusty." Ignus smirked. "We should keep going."

Aqua nodded and they headed into the cave. In the back was a large wooden door.

"Give me a hand." Ignus put his shoulder against it and Aqua helped him push the door open. In the middle of the room beyond floated a golden keyblade.

"Is that what you're after?"

"Well, I'm still going to be fighting with Spark and Inferno, but if I'm going to seal that door…"he reached out and took the key. "Only one will do."

"A keyblade of darkness…" Aqua muttered.

"_The door of darkness, tied by two keys. The door of darkness, to seal the light._" Ignus recited. "Well, we've got the keys. Now we need the people to close the door."

"Sorry?"

"The door between the two realms is just spilling out darkness right now. We'll need the two keyblades, but also help on both sides to shut it."

"Well, if you'll be doing the locking, let me be the one to close the door." Aqua suggested.

"Absolutely not." Ignus said sharply. He breathed and composed himself. "I'm not trapping you down here again. Besides, the job's already taken."

Before Aqua could ask, the cavern shook with another booming sound. A bright light enveloped them, blinding them both.

Notes:

I'm the One: watch?v=B5yY4aGqUsc


	3. Chapter 3: Lost in Darkness

Ignus blinked the spots out of his eyes and looked around. They were no longer in the cave, and pillars of dark rock stood around them.

Soon, they spotted the massive white gate.

"Is that the one?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah. The door to Kingdom Hearts. Well, not Kingdom Hearts as you knew it. Not exactly. It's much less powerful than it used to be, but it's still the heart of many worlds. And besides, even if it's not complete, we can't just leave it open like this, or more darkness will escape and destroy whatever it hasn't already." Ignus summoned the keyblade of darkness to his hand. "With this key and Sora's in the realm of light, we can close this door. Now, all we need is Riku."

"Sora, Riku…" Aqua whispered.

"There!" Aqua followed as Ignus pointed at the silver-haired boy who was running towards the gate. "That's everybody. Come on Aqua. Let's get this start-"

Ignus was interrupted by a swarm of Heartless bursting from the crevice in front of them and speeding towards Riku. Aqua leapt into the air and summoned glowing chains of light.

"Back off!" She said, locking the creatures in a ball. They tugged at her keyblade, trying to free themselves as she pulled them away from the boy.

"Aqua, come on!" Ignus called.

"Go without me!" Aqua replied.

"I can't leave you on your own! Not again!"

The Heartless suddenly broke free and both Aqua and Ignus got caught in their tide. Ignus broke free and fell to the ground. He rose with effort.

"Aqua!" He shouted as the dark wave carried her through the door where they'd entered the cave. The door swung shut and vanished from existence.

Ignus couldn't move for a second. When he did, he raised himself with a roar.

"AQUAAAA!"


	4. Chapter 4: Shadow and Flame

Ignus stood like stone, still staring at the smooth rock wall where the door had been.

"Aqua…" He breathed. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Ignus! Come on!"

Ignus recognized Riku's voice. The boy was at the doors, colossal Heartless closing in on him. Ignus took a moment and recited the Oath of Spark and Inferno. He fell to his knee for a moment, the darkness around him heightening Inferno's influence. He focused on Spark, trying to keep the shivering keyblade in control. It dissolved in his hand and his darkness took over. Ignus swung Inferno with a savage roar and exploded at the titanic creatures.

**(Fight Scene song: Night Witches)**

As the last Darkside faded, a bright light shown from the crevice beneath them. Ignus panted, letting Inferno fade. He raised the keyblade of darkness, calling over his shoulder.

"Now, Sora! We have to close them now!"

Notes:

Night Witches: watch?v=SV4HSxPzvI8


	5. Epilogue: A New Direction

Ignus finished his story, his head low.

Riku looked up. "She sacrificed herself to save me?" He whirled on Ignus. "Why did you keep it from me for so long?" He demanded.

"I didn't want you to have that weight. I had to respect her choice." Ignus kept his voice even.

"What about us? You could've given us a choice, we could have gone and helped her!"

"Do you think I didn't want to?" Ignus suddenly shouted. Riku and Kairi both stepped back involuntarily. "You think it doesn't burn at me, knowing that I found her after so long, that she was alive and alone, and then I found her, and I failed her, again? You think I don't still want to?"

Ignus's eyes were wild and his breathing rapid. He processed the fear on the children's faces, checked himself, and silently turned away from Riku to face Yen Sid's desk.

"Do not be rash, Riku." Yen Sid said. "As Ignus told you clearly in his story, reaching the realm of darkness the first time was not a simple task. And even if we had found a way back in, regrettably, none of us possessed the necessary means to get Aqua back out safely. So I forbade Ignus from telling you, let alone going after her."

"Why keep it secret?"

"That much is obvious. If not you, then certainly Sora would have staged a reckless attempt at rescue."

Riku tried to respond, but closed his mouth without saying anything.

"But now…" Ignus spoke up. "We can help Aqua. You and I, we're going to find her."

"Yeah! Count me in!" Riku agreed.

"Who's this new Riku and where's the old one?" Kairi giggled.

"New me?"

"Yeah, you're more like Sora."

"Should I be flattered? I try too hard to be the role model. It's more fun to just listen to my heart. Which is Sora-esque."

"Well, we still like you." Kairi smiled. She turned to Yen Sid. "Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?"

"I have entrusted the wizard Merlin to oversee the training of our new keyblade wielders," Yen Sid replied, "yourself and Lea."

"Lea?"

"He means Axel." Ignus supplied.

"What?" Kairi stepped back.

"Trust me, I had the same reaction." Ignus shook his head. "But he's changed. He's not a Nobody anymore. He even helped us save Sora. I know it'll be strange, but you can trust him."

Kairi looked uncertainly to Riku, who nodded. Ignus put a hand on her shoulder as he headed for the door. "Come on Riku. We should get going. It could take some time to find an entrance into the realm of darkness."

"Ignus, take these along with you." Yen Sid waved his hand and two briefcases appeared on his desk. "They are new vestments which will shield the both of you from the darkness."

Riku and Ignus each took a case, and thanked Yen Sid with a bow.

_Ignus's story will continue in A Flickering Light Book 3: Rising From Darkness_


End file.
